


Sign of The Times

by orphan_account



Category: Tom and Jerry (MGM/Hanna-Barbera)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1960s, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Human, Crack Treated Seriously, F/F, F/M, Idiots in Love, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:34:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26259490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: When mice go wrong, kitties go right after them.
Relationships: Tom Cat/Jerry Mouse
Comments: 4
Kudos: 55





	1. Disclaimers

Notices & Disclaimers 

Dear Reader,  
Welcome to my very first fic here on AO3. I would like to thank you for willingly reading something so cute yet so stupid. I would also like to point out that this work is open to interpretation, meaning you can view this seriously, or as comedic relief. When I had first thought of the idea, I intended for this to be a joke. However, when I had begun drafting the first few chapters, I realized that this ship could have some potential. So, here you are! Please read through these lists of disclaimers thoroughly. 

Anon friends!

Vic

\---

Notices and Disclaimers: 

  * This is set around 1962, but my portrayals of the 1960s are not entirely accurate. I would also like to mention that I do not mean to romanticize life in the 1960s as something light and airy. 
    * Characters in this fic have very laid-back views on things that were considered taboo in the 60s. I do not mean to water down issues certain communities had to go through during this time period. 
  * I, myself, am not American, therefore my portrayals of America aren’t accurate either. 



\---

Inspirations for this fic: 

  * Valley of the Dolls (1966 Novel)
  * Valley of the Dolls (1967 Film Adaptation) 
  * Down with Love (2003 Film) 
  * Mad Men (2007-2015)
  * Vogue By The Decade: 60s. (2017)  
Narrated by Sarah Jessica Parker 



\---

Tom & Jerry, its plot, and its characters are the current property of Turner Entertainment CO. The author does not own the cartoon or any of the characters that are mentioned. The characters and places depicted in this work do not reflect the original plot of the said cartoon. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.

\---

Credits:  
Tom & Jerry • Turner Entertainment CO.

Beta Readers • [KyraMidoriya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyramidoriya) • [Flostar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flostar)  
Emotional Support • [lapoubella](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lapoubella) • [Flostar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flostar) • [KatyaStark](https://archiveofourown.org/users/katyastark/pseuds/katyastark)

SOTT PLAYLIST • [HERE](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5xEHw97YNGDOrovqhxRHSn)!  
  


\---

_Expect trash to come!_


	2. Sunny Slickers

Jerry 

_ April 1962. _

The temperature hit ninety degrees when Jerry had stepped off of the train. Los Angeles seemed to be steaming hot. But somehow, Jerry didn’t mind the heat or the railways lined with trash. He was from New York, so he was used to a lot of things. 

He left New York for a better background. New York was always so busy and noisy, it was hard to get things done, and everything moved so fast it was hard to keep up. However, having lived in New York for his entire lifetime, it wasn’t easy leaving his home in the pretty countryside. 

Jerry could still picture them perfectly, standing on the depot of one of New York City’s great train stations. Mama, Papa, and Glenn. Oh, Glenn. The poor soul had no idea that Jerry would be stepping out of his life, forever. 

Jerry could never forget the night he told his parents he was going to Los Angeles. They had told him it was a horrible place to go for a vacation. Jerry announced he was going to work there and live with his cousin, Mckinley “Muscles” Mouse. Jerry could still picture their shocked faces. 

Jerry was surprised to see that Glenn took it very well. Glenn told him that he’d give Jerry a few months before he came back home, ready to settle down in New York. Jerry remembered the day Glenn admitted his pining for him. He said it meant they were engaged. Well, engaged to be engaged. 

Truthfully, Jerry wanted a marriage like Mama and Papa’s, but it seemed everyone was looking for a husband or wife in New York. Before marriage, Jerry wanted new faces, new opportunities, new surroundings. Papa says New York would be there forever.

However, there was no point in reminiscing. Jerry had now made it to Los Angeles! Everything smelled so fresh and so clean, unlike the dirty smoke-field streets of Manhattan. 

Jerry gripped the handle of his suitcase tightly. He had only been there for a few minutes and yet he felt so terrified of being in such a new place. Over the phone, he and Muscles had agreed to meet up at the depot, however, his cousin was nowhere to be found. 

Jerry smiled. It was nice getting to visit Muscles after a few years of separation. They did live on other sides of The States. He allowed his eyes to wander around the depot; he found a certain comfort in watching everyone greet their loved ones.

_ Must be nice getting to have someone to hug and share hellos with the minute you stepped off the station. _ Jerry chuckled. Muscles was always late to something. Whether it be their family reunions or even their calls to each other. 

But it was sad. Jerry watched as a pair of children sprinted passed him to greet a man in a suit. It reminded him of home. 

Papa was always boasting on how he was going to be such a big-shot businessman in a few years if he worked hard enough. Jerry loved his positive mindset. Mama would just listen to him and giggle. She knew deep down that her loving husband could do it.

Jerry sighed, deeply. It felt wrong to feel sad when he’s just made it into his new home for the rest of his life. Or if what Glenn said was true, a couple of months of his life. But he hoped Glenn wasn’t right. California was just what he needed!  
  
“Jerry!”

Quickly turning around, Jerry spotted his older cousin’s broad figure sprinting at him with full force. 

Muscles quickly hounded Jerry with the widest arms and brought him closer with the biggest hug Jerry had ever received. Muscles had to bend down just to properly hug Jerry without suffocating him. 

“Hey!” Jerry cried, swatting at him. “Geeze, Muscles! Let me go!”

“That’s no way to greet your cousin,” grumbled Muscles, rubbing his neck.

“Don’t just come running at me like that,” scolded Jerry. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

Muscles shook his head. “You New Yorkers just don’t know how to receive proper affection.”

Jerry huffed.

“Am I not supposed to hug my new roommate?” Muscles chuckled. 

“I’m just not used to you giving out this sort of affection,” said Jerry, smoothing out the creases on his shirt. “You were always the strong and silent type. What happened?”

“Just excited to have someone to talk to,” Muscles chided. “Now that you're here, I don’t have to feel alone.”   
  
Jerry stifled a laugh. “Have you ever tried to make friends?”

Muscles shook his head.”The minute I moved in everyone seemed to be scared of me.” 

To be fair, you can’t blame Muscles for having a natural scowl, or his naturally bulky build. The last time they had chatted over the phone, Muscles admitted to never having been to a gym in a day of his life. However, he did work as a carpenter, so some bulk was picked up hauling around wood and tools and whatever carpenters did. 

Muscles went around to Jerry’s side and kicked two of them to the side and gripped their handles. “Excited to be here?”

They moved farther into the station, and Jerry took some time to admire the orient cross-hatching lining the aerial windows. It was similar to New York and looked like it would support a very intense game of tic-tac-toe. 

“Of course I am!” said Jerry. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You didn’t seem very happy when I got here.” Muscles remarked. 

Jerry had to agree with him. He did seem kind of solemn, and to others, that may have been a depressing sight to look at. 

“I was just thinking then,” Jerry said, tightening his hold on his hatbox as they passed by a group of ruggish-looking teenagers. A New York instinct he would have to forget if he wanted to fit in here. 

They exited the depot and into the car park, and the light summer breeze hit Jerry  _ hard _ . The palm trees surrounding the park were tall and lush with pointed green leaves, and the cars themselves looked as if they came in every shade of pastels. 

Muscles glanced at Jerry and smiled. His younger cousin had fixated his gaze onto the street across from the depot and was hungrily taking in the colourful signs and the small buildings. Muscles had guessed Jerry would have had this look on his face, but nothing as extreme as this. 

“Close your mouth, you’re drooling,” Muscles teased. 

Jerry glared at him. “Leave me alone. This place is beautiful! How come you had never mentioned anything like this when I called?”

“Because I didn’t care at the time,” Muscles shrugged. “I didn’t think you’d care, either.”

Jerry shook his head. “Don’t think by yourself next time.” 

They continued further into the lot, and Jerry seemed to gape and stare at every car they had come across. New York had these models, but never in such pretty shades of candy hues and jewel tones. 

Soon they had come up across Muscles’ car: a FORD Falcon club wagon in a brilliant taffy blue. Jerry laughed at how boxy it looked. He would have assumed the car would be a bit sportier and not as frumpy. 

“What? Do you have something to say?” Muscles raised a brow at him. “Last time I checked  _ you _ didn’t have a car.”

Jerry snorted. “Just how much do you make to drive a literal cube?” 

Muscles ignored him and popped open the trunk, and began to shove Jerry’s luggage into the small compartment like the pieces to a puzzle. While doing so, he snatched Jerry’s hatbox and shoved it into the corner of the small trunk. Jerry winced at the noise it made. 

“Be careful with those.” Jerry sighed, watching Muscles slam the lid shut.

“Why’d you pack so much?” questioned Muscles. “I’ve never met a boy who needed to pack so much in my life.” 

Muscles walked to the other side of the automobile and shoved himself inside. Jerry entered the passenger’s side a bit softer. 

The inside of Muscles’ car was cleaner than Jerry expected it to be. Jerry expected candy wrappers and fast-food wrappings and sauce packets. But not a single piece of trash in sight. It seemed brand new. 

“What can’t you buy here in Los Angeles?” Muscles asked, pressing the key into the ignition. 

“Clothes,” said Jerry. “I bought a few new things for this trip.”

Muscles gave him a look. A look you would receive if you had just said the dumbest thing in the world. “Clothes? You can buy clothes here!”

Jerry shrugged. “Glenn said you don’t get much fashion news here. New York gets the news about trends minutes after they’re set.” 

“I will never understand fashion,” Muscles sighed. He wasn’t lying, either. Muscles had dressed in brown slacks, a yellow shirt with a black vertical stripe, and a green hat. Jerry grimaced. 

Muscles pulled out from the parking space, and soon after he had exited the lot. Jerry watched as the world seemed to fly by past the windows. He had done the same thing on the train here. Slowly, he had seen the evolution from a metropolitan city like New York, and into the quieter cities with big suburban neighbourhoods and less city-space. 

“Have you thought about the job you wanted?” Muscles asked him, eyes on the pavement. 

Jerry was enchanted with the way the palm trees seemed to sway at almost nothing. 

“Not really,” Jerry said, pressing himself onto the window. “Maybe I could be a waiter at one of those diners.”

Muscles looked unimpressed. “You left New York to become a waiter?” 

Jerry shrugged. “Not really.”

Muscles kept both of his hands on the wheel and glanced at Jerry. “I feel like there’s more to this than just ‘The city isn’t for me.’ “  
  
Jerry sighed. “It really might just be that. The minute everyone graduated high school, everyone seemed to be looking for a husband or a wife.”   
  
“You don’t want to get married?”

Jerry rested his chin on the palm of his hand and joined Muscles in looking forward. “Marriage is scary for someone my age. I’d rather work first.”

Muscles patted him roughly on the back. “I get you. I’m not big on marriage either.”

Jerry smiled. It was nice knowing someone was one his side this time. 

\---

The ride to Muscle’s house was like a fairy-tale adventure to Jerry. Slowly as they passed through the big city, the buildings began to shorten and the greenery became prominent. They passed by a lot of people, too. Some with the biggest smiles on their faces. 

They had made it into the suburb, and Jerry was surprised that Muscles had lived in such a pretty neighbourhood. New York had suburbs, but none as big as these. This felt like it truly was home for Jerry.

The car passed a family of three on the grey sidewalk. A mother and her two children were happily skipping on the sidewalk in their pink plaid dresses. Jerry grinned. He would have thought Muscles lived in one of those shanty little homes on the bad side of town, but this place seemed to be safe enough for children. 

They continued to drive on through for a little bit, and Jerry noticed how the houses seemed a bit more spaced apart, and began much brighter in colour. This was something particularly confusing to Jerry. Muscles was never one for colour, and yet here they were in such a picture-perfect neighbourhood. 

“Why do you look like that?” asked Muscles.

Jerry was jerked back into reality. “What are you talking about?”

“Are you surprised?”

“That you live in such a nice neighbourhood? Yes.”

Muscles punch him hard on the shoulder. Jerry laughed and winced. 

Muscles brought the car into a slow stop in front of a ranch-story home, and Jerry glanced back at Muscles, surprised. The house had an almost contemporary style to it, with long yet low roof lines complemented by the simplicity of it’s exterior. It was pleasing to look at, with the clever usage of upward siding and rocky stone veneers. 

“What?”

“There is no way you live here.” Jerry scrutinized. “There is no way that you, my cousin that I know very well, lives here of all places.”

Muscles scoffed. “Wow, a bit judgemental are we? Besides, I have a little surprise for you.”

“Is this the surprise?” Jerry cocked a brow. “Because I’m very surprised right now.”

“You shouldn't be when you see the real surprise,” Muscles chuckled, pulling the door open and slamming. Jerry followed suit. 

However, when Muscles had gone to retrieve Jerry’s trunks, his younger cousin had zoomed past him to further inspect the house. 

Jerry was stunned. The flowers under the window to the living room were healthy, and the grass Jerry had been stepping on seemed to be the brightest hue of emerald green. Jerry could not swallow the fact that Muscles lived in such a nice place. 

Stepping onto the porch, Jerry admired the way the pillar leaned to the side and to a point. It reminded him a lot of that new cartoon.    
  


_The Jetsons?_ Jerry thought to himself. Jerry wasn’t a fan of those science fiction movies, but he did know a thing or two about what looked good and what didn’t. And this looked _good_.   
  
_Too_ good for someone like Muscles. 

“Aren’t you going to help me?”

Jerry looked over his shoulder and saw his older cousin handling two of his suitcases while having placed two of his smaller trunks onto the tops of the luggage, and Jerry hatbox around his neck. 

Jerry stifled a laugh. “Nah, you’re fine.” 

Muscles glared at him. 

“Alright,” Jerry clapped his hands together. “Give me your key and let’s see if the inside is as nice as the outside.” 

Muscles motioned towards his left pocket, and he quickly snatched the key. It was a standard one, silver and the number on it matched the house number. Jerry still seemed sceptical. 

Pressing the key into the lock and twisting it, Jerry bolted into the house. Muscles followed slowly after and found his cousin gawking at how tidy it was. 

Jerry stood in the middle of the foyer, dumbfounded. The inside of Muscle’s house seemed just as colourful as the outside, with a similar colour scheme and a conversation pit lined with bright yellow settees. Around the house on the brown walls were pieces of pop, conceptual, and psychedelic art. 

Now Jerry knew something was up. 

Jerry slowly turned around to Muscles, a dark look on his face. “Who did you rob for this house?” asked Jerry, gravely. 

Muscles scowled, setting Jerry’s luggage at the door. “What the hell do you take me for, Jerry?” Muscles made his way down to the conversation pit and settled into one of the couches. 

“There is no way someone like you would spend this much money on art! Some of these look expensive, too!” Jerry exclaimed, stepping over to examine one of the larger pieces, hung just above the conversation pit. 

“So? Maybe I wanted to pick up a few things for my house.” Muscles had a smug look on his face. 

Jerry glowered. “Who are you, and what did you do with my cousin?”

“Jesus Christ, Jerry,” Muscles rolled his eyes. “People change.”

“There is no damn way you changed this much over two years.” 

“Well-”

“Muscles, baby, who’s that with you?” A sweet voice echoed through the abode, a heavy accent drawling out the words. 

Jerry looked at his cousin, confused. 

From the other end of the house, a girl popped her head out of one of the rooms. She was short and slim, her skin a tawny, orange-brown complimented with pretty blonde hair.    
  


The girl made her way over to Muscles in the kitchen, and to Jerry’s immediate surprise, planted a soft kiss on his cousin’s cheek. Jerry’s jaw dropped to the ground once more. 

“Betty, this is my cousin, Jerry.” Muscles said, his voice lighter. Jerry saw the immediate reaction Muscles had to this Betty girl. 

Betty turned and focused an equally bright smile onto Jerry, and ran to his side and enveloped him in another great hug, although a bit softer than the one Muscles had given him at the depot. 

“Nice to meet you!” the girl smiled, warmly. “Oh gosh, you must be Jerry! Muscles has told me so much about you.” Betty was speaking so fast it had made Jerry’s head spin. 

“Er, who are you?” Jerry asked. Betty stepped away and studied his confusion. 

“Oh!” She clasped her hands together. “My name’s Betty Lou!” She looked back to Muscles. “I’m Muscles’ girlfriend!”

Jerry’s eyes widened, looking between Betty Lou and Muscles, who had sheepishly looked away, rubbing his neck. 

“Golly, you look so surprised!” Betty Lou giggled. She turned back to Muscles, “You haven’t said anything about me?”

“Well, I didn’t think he’d care.” Muscles said, plainly. 

“I do care!” Jerry sputtered. “You told me everyone was scared of you!”

“Everyone still is,” Muscles shrugged. 

Betty scoffed. “Anyways, that doesn’t matter right now!” Betty clasped Jerry hands, “Muscles, go get Jerry’s luggage and bring them into his room!.”    
  
Betty turned back to Jerry,    
  
“You and I have a lot to talk about!”

\---

**Author's Note:**

> ♡ Be sure to ⭐Leave Kudos, 🔔Subscribe, & 💬Comment to support my works!! ♡


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